New Look like-for-like sales drop almost 11%

The company posted an underlying operating loss of £5.1m while loss before tax was £123.5m

Clothing retailer New Look has posted poor results for the 39 week period ending 23 December 2017, with a decrease in sales in most revenue streams.

For the final quarter of the year, which New Look accounts for as Q3, overall group revenue fell by 6.3% to £1.69bn while group like-for-likes dropped 10.6%.

UK like-for-like sales also decreased by 10.7% and website sales also plummeted by 15%.

The only revenue stream that saw an increase was third party ecommerce sales which saw a marked increase of 21.9%.

As such the company has reported adjusted EBITDA of £43.8m.

New Look also recorded an underlying operating loss of £5.1m while loss before tax was £123.5m.

New Look chairman Alistair McGeorge said that the results were as expected and that Q3 trading remained challenging due to the sales and margins being impacted by heavy discounting.

He went on to say that the immediate priority for the company is to now exit the current financial year with clean stock to be in a position to deliver a strong full price Spring/Summer offer.

“I am confident that we are now making the necessary changes to get the company back on track and we continue to have sufficient liquidity to deliver our plans,” he said. “In particular, we are focusing on reducing costs, recovering the broad appeal of our product and reconnecting with our customers.

“We are already realigning our pricing to offer significantly better value, adding flexibility to our buying model, and improving our speed to market. Additionally, we are working hard to achieve a better alignment between ecommerce and stores. Taken together, this will help to drive future full price sales.

“We have a great brand supported by brilliant people, and I am confident we are taking the necessary actions to rebuild our position within the UK market and restore long-term profitability.”